1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to rolled awnings and, more particularly, to a returnable and reusable packaging and storage system for such rolled awnings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rolled awnings are conventionally placed in elongated rigid cardboard tubes to protect them during shipment and storage. Although the cardboard tubes are satisfactory to prevent damage to the awnings, the tubes themselves are rather expensive, and insertion of the awnings into the tubes represents an extra step and additional expense in the manufacture of the awnings. Moreover, since it is undesirable from a cost standpoint to return the empty tubes to the manufacturer, the used cardboard tubes create a disposal problem for the retailer.
From an environmental perspective, the tubes are undesirable as their manufacture requires natural resources which are becoming increasingly expensive and their disposal takes up much-needed landfill space. Hence, the acquisition and disposal costs of these cardboard tubes as well as their burden on the environment, can be expected to increase in the coming years.
Finally, since the retailer typically purchases a variety of awnings having different lengths, colors, and fabrics, the cardboard shipping tubes and awnings create an inventory and retrieval problem for the retailer. Namely, when a specific awning is desired for purchase or inspection, the particular cardboard tube containing that awning must be located within a stack of tubes and thereafter manually pulled or otherwise removed from the stack of awning shipping tubes to gain access to the desired awning therein. This is not only difficult, but disrupts the order of the remaining shipping tubes and renders inventory control and awning retrieval problematic.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a returnable and reusable rolled awning transport and storage system. There also exists a need in the art for an awning storage system which permits easy insertion of awnings therein and removal of awnings therefrom.